


Kinship

by xenosaurus



Series: Muse [2]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Dogs, Established Relationship, Family, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-18 03:00:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11282382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenosaurus/pseuds/xenosaurus
Summary: Yusuke seeks out another of Madarame's old students.





	Kinship

Finding Akane Taniguchi turns out to be as easy as watching the news.

Four days after Madarame's confession, Yusuke is sitting across from Akira in Leblanc. They're sorting through all of the makeup work Yusuke has to do for school, with books and printouts strewn across the tabletop. They have the television on in the background, listening for Phantom Thieves news.

"--of Madarame's pupils to claim a specific piece as her own work--"

"Morgana, where's the remote?" Akira asks, scrambling to turn the volume up. Yusuke doesn't know if he caught the name as well or if he's just responding to Yusuke abruptly going still.

Taniguchi is on the screen, years older than Yusuke last saw her. She's grown her hair out, and it frames her face like a protective curtain. He recognizes the set of her shoulders from the way Madarame trained them for interviews, but there's something fierce about her that's brand new.

There's an image of a watercolor painting superimposed over the corner of the screen. It's an impressionist piece depicting a deserted convenience store. It has a washed-out, dreamlike quality to it, except for the girl behind the counter. Great care has been taken in capturing her bleached-blonde hair, the dark brown roots showing through. Her fingernails are specks of hot pink, a sharp contrast to the greys and blues that make up the rest of its composition.

The title of the piece is displayed under it.

'Sanctuary'.

"I'm not concerned with financial compensation. I only want this painting back. It was inspired by someone dear to me and it has sickened me for years to know that he had it."

Taniguchi's voice is steady and strong. Yusuke remembers her as a timid woman.

Something has changed.

"Are you willing to name your other works? And do you know the true artists for the rest of the paintings attributed to your former teacher?"

Taniguchi tilts her head one way, then back.

"Amaya-san's. I'll help identify his, because he's not here anymore to claim them himself. He was like a brother to me, I would know his style anywhere."

Yusuke remembers his two seniors talking in hushed voices, Taniguchi's red eyes, Amaya's quiet patience.

Siblings.

"And the others?" The interviewer pushes.

"I can't speak for the feelings of the others. But..."

Taniguchi hesitates, then glances at the camera. It feels like she's looking into Yusuke's soul.

"If any of his other students are listening, and you need help now that he's gone, please... I remember how hard it was to leave. I wish I could have taken you all with me, but I'm here for you now. You can rely on me."

Yusuke makes an entirely involuntary noise of pain. Akira reaches out across the table and grabs his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

The reporters start making comments about inspiration and community, but Taniguchi doesn't get another chance to speak. Yusuke has lost all his doubts about contacting her.

After that, things go remarkably smoothly. The Phantom Thieves website is abuzz with news of the Madarame incident, and Akira gets an email address for Taniguchi before the night is over. Yusuke finds himself overcome with a strange anxiety about contacting her, so his boyfriend writes the email and sets up a time to come visit on Sunday.

Yusuke kisses him in thanks up until Morgana starts complaining again.

Sunday comes quickly, even though Yusuke has to wade through school and makeup work to get to it. He spends Saturday afternoon in the underground mall with Akira and Ann, choosing a present to bring along when they go to Taniguchi's apartment. Akira has to steer both of his companions away from the pricey sweets, although they do get ice cream. It certainly keeps the mood up. In the end, they decide on flowers.

Yusuke is glad he has the flowers when Sunday comes, because obsessively rearranging them gives him something to do with his hands on the train. He's not sure why he's so nervous about this. A few weeks ago he fought the embodiment of his teacher's sins with a sword.

Akira, of course, comes with him. The warmth of his boyfriend's hand on his knee keeps him calm the whole trip over.

"How are you feeling?" Akira asks, just before they go into the apartment building itself. Yusuke takes a deep, steadying breath.

"I believe I have my anxiety under control," He says, optimistically. Akira glances around to make sure they aren't about to create a scene, then gives him a quick kiss.

"You can do this. I'll be right there with you," He promises, which makes Yusuke feel warm. He smiles at Akira and nods.

"Yes. Let's head up."

Taniguchi lives on the second floor, and her mailbox is carefully labeled with two names:

_Akane Taniguchi & Sakiko Oshima_

Yusuke frowns. Hadn't Akane moved out to live with her boyfriend? Had they broken up?

To knock on the door, Yusuke has to hand the flowers over to Akira, who holds them dutifully. As soon as Yusuke's knuckles touch the wood, a dog starts barking madly from inside.

"Kira, chill!" Comes a woman's voice from inside, and after a moment, the door opens. It isn't Taniguchi, but Yusuke recognizes the woman's face. Sakiko, Akane's best friend from school. Her hair is bleached but it wasn't done recently, leaving dark brown roots visible. She has on red lipstick and her nails are painted a glittery purple. She's just as flashy as she always was, but older. She has a shiba inu by the collar.

"You guys afraid of dogs?" Sakiko asks. The dog is fighting her to get to Akira and Yusuke, whining all the while. Akira shakes his head.

"No--" Yusuke starts to say, but as soon as he opens his mouth, Sakiko lets go of the dog's collar. The dog is on them in a second, tail wagging frantically as he licks their hands and jumps up onto his hind legs to try to reach their faces. Yusuke can't help but laugh. He crouches down to accept the dog's affection, scratching behind his ears.

"What's his name?" Akira asks, apparently as charmed by their new friend as Yusuke is.

"Kira," Sakiko says, grinning proudly. "You know, like 'killer' in English. He loves everybody too much to live up to it, though."

"He's a very handsome boy," Yusuke says serenely, while Kira licks his fingers. It's amusing, how close the dog's name is to Akira's.

"Yep, he sure is. He's my gorgeous baby," Sakiko boasts, then shifts easily into the real purpose of the visit. "Good to see you again, Yusuke. You got tall as hell."

Yusuke has to extract himself from dog kisses to reply, because Kira is very distracting. Once Yusuke is no longer a prime target for affection, Kira changes trajectory and tries to get Akira's attention. Akira carefully holds the flowers out of the dog's reach.

"And you've done new and exciting things with your hair," Yusuke comments. It makes Sakiko laugh.

"Man, the _sass_ hasn't changed, has it. Come on in, Akane's making tea."

Sakiko turns to walk back into the apartment, and Kira abandons them to follow his mom.

The apartment is decorated like a gallery. The wall space is consumed by Taniguchi's paintings, overwhelming the color of the walls themselves. They're all cheaply framed, and Yusuke can tell from here that the paints used aren't top quality, but they seem to carry more emotion that way. This little apartment is a celebration of Akane Taniguchi's artwork, clearly put together out of love, not vanity. Yusuke can tell immediately that Sakiko was the one to choose this style of decoration.

It's a small space, with very little boundary between the kitchen and the living room. There are only two doors off this main space.

It occurs to Yusuke that this is a one-bedroom apartment just before Taniguchi walks over and everything comes sharply into focus.

Sakiko and Taniguchi fill each other's personal space, an air of comfortable intimacy in the way they stand. Sakiko's hand comes up to adjust Taniguchi's hair, as she can't do it herself while holding the tray of tea. Yusuke remembers the painting on the news, of a woman in a convenience store, and all the times Taniguchi would go to the one two train stops from the atelier even when there was nothing they needed--

There was never a boyfriend. It was always Sakiko.

Akira catches it when Yusuke does, or maybe he'd already figured it out. Yusuke glances at him, and Akira nods, takes his hand. Yusuke can see the comprehension on Taniguchi's face, the way her eyes go warm and sad in turns. Sakiko is the one who speaks up, though.

"Oh. You guys too, huh? Damn, that's half the bastard's students--"

"Sakiko," Taniguchi says, softly. Sakiko cuts herself off immediately and tucks another strand of Taniguchi's hair behind her ear instead.

"I was... very happy that you contacted me, Yusuke-kun," Taniguchi says. This is closer to how Yusuke remembers her than what he saw on television. She sets down the tray of tea on the table. "I've worried about you, since I left. Especially after what happened to Amaya-san."

"I don't believe any of us took that well," Yusuke admits with a sigh. "I don't remember much of the months that followed, to be honest."

"But you made it through," Taniguchi says, approaching Yusuke. She looks him up and down and smiles. "You're here, and you're healthy and-- and I'm so proud of you."

The words hit Yusuke right in the stomach. His sharp intake a breath makes a sound, and Akira squeezes his hand, then lets go. It's a good instinct, because the moment he does, Taniguchi hugs him.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you behind," Taniguchi says.

Yusuke doesn't know what to say. He hugs her back silently, noticing distantly that she's shorter than him now.

Taniguchi wipes her eyes when she comes out of the hug. Sakiko hands her a box of tissues.

"Thank you," Taniguchi says, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Sakiko puts a hand on her girlfriend's back, just between her shoulder blades. It's so similar to one of Akira's comforting gestures that Yusuke's heart aches.

"Sorry, I'm sure you didn't come here today to see me cry. Sit, sit, have some tea," Taniguchi urges, then glances at Akira. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I haven't even introduced myself--"

Sakiko sits down on the couch, pulling Taniguchi with her.

"I'm Sakiko, this is Akane. She's like, your boyfriend's sister. Sorta. And you've already met our beautiful son," Sakiko says, giving Kira a pat when she says the last part.

_Siblings._

"I'm Akira Kurusu," Akira says, dipping his head in a slight bow before sitting down. "I hope we'll get along."

"Damn, are _all_ kids this polite these days?"

"You haven't met our friend Ryuji," Akira says, dryly. Sakiko laughs again, and Taniguchi smiles and shakes her head.

"You shouldn't make comments about 'kids these days', sweetheart. You're not even 25."

"Says the woman who was talking about 'the economy' not twelve hours ago. Face it, Akane, we're old."

"The economy has consequences regardless of age," Yusuke says. Taniguchi smiles at him.

"See, even Yusuke-kun agrees with me. I'm still young," Taniguchi says triumphantly, then giggles when Sakiko tickles her in revenge. Yusuke smiles.

"You seem happy, Taniguchi-san," He says. Taniguchi sighs and rests her head on Sakiko's shoulder.

"I wouldn't say things are _easy_ , but... yes, I am. Sakiko saved me," She says. Sakiko scoffs.

"You aren't giving yourself nearly enough credit. I didn't save you, I cheered you on while you saved yourself."

"The same is true of Yusuke and me," Akira says, which earns him a bright grin from Sakiko, and a softer smile from Taniguchi. Yusuke's heart flutters in his chest, but he's not sure if he agrees. If Akira hadn't agreed to be his model, would he be sitting in the atelier right now?

"Have you two been dating long?" Taniguchi asks, leaning forward to pour everyone tea. Yusuke takes his mug carefully, enjoying the warmth of it.

"Only a few weeks," Akira says, taking his own mug.

"Damn, really? You guys seem really close," Sakiko says.

"Our short time together has been full of the sort of moments that bond people for a lifetime," Yusuke comments. Honestly, it's true of all the Phantom Thieves, but his relationship with Akira would be something special even if they weren't dating.

Taniguchi makes a cooing noise.

"Oh, that's so sweet."

"I'm getting cavities over here," Sakiko says, teasing so blatantly even Yusuke picks up on it.

"Be nice, you," Taniguchi says, giving her girlfriend a mock punch on the shoulder. Sakiko feigns offense.

"Were you friends beforehand?" Taniguchi asks. "Because--"

"Because I liked Akane for like, six years before we actually went out," Sakiko says, grinning. "I wasn't very good at being the pining best friend. I think I scared all the boys off."

"Just as well. I had no interest in them," Taniguchi says, sipping her tea.

"Damn right," Sakiko laughs, holding out a hand for her girlfriend to high five. To Yusuke's surprise, Taniguchi actually does it. She was much less playful when she was younger.

"I was actually the model for one of Yusuke's art pieces," Akira says, which prompts a low whistle from Sakiko and a giggle from Taniguchi.

"Nice, nice, the old 'ask the cute person to model for you' trick," Sakiko says, giving Yusuke a thumbs up. Yusuke feels his face warm.

"I was... unaware of my own feelings at the time, to be quite honest."

"I thought you were hitting on me until you actually got out the pencils," Akira says.

"Wait, really? And you still came to the atelier?"

Akira raises an eyebrow, smiling.

"I think I've made it pretty clear I'm attracted to you. That was around from the start."

"You two are adorable as hell," Sakiko says, shaking her head and laughing. "Glad it didn't take you forever and half to get your shit together like it did for us."

"As long as it works out in the end, all is well," Taniguchi says, smiling at her girlfriend with incredible fondness.

"Agreed," Yusuke says, because she's right.

All is well.


End file.
